The word 'visitor' is built on the Latin verb visere, meaning 'to go to see, to view,' which itself is derived from vidēre, 'to see.' The frequentative form visitare (to go to see often) passed into Old French as visiter and then into Middle English. The agentive suffix '-or,' of Latin origin, was appended to create a noun meaning 'one who goes to see.' Thus, the literal composition 'one who goes to see' evolved seamlessly into the modern abstract sense of a person who calls upon another or goes to a place, whether for social, professional, or touristic purposes.

Structure: visit (to go to see) + or (person who does) - visit: From Latin visitat- (the stem of visitare, frequentative of visere, to go to see). Functional role: Core verb root. - or: From Latin -or (agent noun suffix). Functional role: Derivational suffix forming nouns denoting an agent.